Chapter 11
There was silence on the other end for a long time, so long that Quinlyn had to double-check if the call was still connected.
Then she heard Zachary’s heavy breathing. It got louder and louder, like he was about to turn into a bull. He shouted her name again, each word sounding like it was squeezed out through gritted teeth.
“So, what do you want?” Quinlyn asked carelessly.
What she got in return was a loud bang, and then the call ended by itself.
She held her chest, laughing inwardly at how angry Zachary was. That was totally out of character for him.
Quinlyn shrugged. Honestly, she was feeling pretty good. With the sounds of crying and yelling outside her door, she peacefully closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Meanwhile, Zachary was so mad after hanging up that he nearly cracked his teeth from clenching them.
He had been raised with good manners and had never met a girl like Quinlyn before. He couldn’t believe this was his fiancée. He’d rather stay single forever than marry her.
His breathing was rough, but slowly, he calmed himself down. He made up his mind-he was going to figure out a way to fix this.
On the day of Quinlyn and Yalena’s birthday, the sun was shining and spring was in full bloom.
Quinlyn opened her eyes, still a little dazed and confused. She wasn’t sure if she was awake or still dreaming.
It took a while before the blurry memories started to come back.
She turned her head toward the window. The sun had just risen, and outside, she could hear cheerful voices, like all the awkwardness from the past few days had already blown over.
Ever since Yalena’s “backing off to gain sympathy” trick worked, she had gained everyone’s pity.
During that time, Yancy came to talk to Quinlyn. He asked her not to make things so tense between her and the rest of the family. Quinlyn nodded, then asked him what exactly she had done wrong.
Yancy went quiet. He stood there for a long time and couldn’t come up with an answer.
He almost said, “If you’d just step aside for Yalena, everything would be fine.”
But when he looked into Quinlyn’s eyes, he closed his mouth again.
She saw everything too clearly.
To be honest, the Guzman family kind of knew they’d messed up. But people were like that-knowing was one thing, actually changing was another.
Nothing much had happened over the past few days, so Quinlyn’s progress bar hadn’t moved at all.
She knew if she just acted a little softer and used a bit of strategy, the bar would move forward in no time. But the thought of having to suck up to the Guzman family made her skin crawl.
So she chose to let things stay just the way they were.
1/3
Chapter 11
Quinlyn let out a long sigh, got out of bed, and started getting her things in order.
She was desperate for something important to finally happen-something that would help her get out of this cursed identity, this cursed fate.
Once she was ready, she left her room.
She heard Yalena’s sweet voice from downstairs. “Mom, do you think I look better in this princess dress or the mermaid one?”
“My daughter looks good in anything,” Evelyn replied.
“Well, I know that,” Yalena said playfully. “But I want to pick the best one. After all, once today’s over, I’ll be an adult. Maybe I should go with the mermaid dress? You know, to show some change.”
Evelyn praised her happily.
Yalena had been down for a few days, and now she was finally cheering up. Evelyn was fully focused on keeping her spirits up-and completely forgot that Quinlyn also needed to try on a dress.
Quinlyn had sharper features and was taller than Yalena. That black mermaid dress would obviously look better on her.
Beatrice stood nearby, watching with a soft smile that only a loving mother could have. She had never smiled at Quinlyn like that.
When Quinlyn came downstairs, there was a clear moment of silence.
Evelyn glanced at her, her expression a little complicated. She was starting to regret bringing this daughter home. Quinlyn wasn’t thoughtful toward the family, and ever since she came back, everything had been a mess.
But then she thought of what Graham had said. Evelyn sighed and finally said, “Quinlyn, come here. Your dresses are here- try them on.”
Quinlyn gave them a quick glance. “Anything’s fine. I’m not picky.”
Yalena smiled softly and said, “Quinlyn, pick the one you like best. It’s your first time at this kind of party, after all. A lot of people are coming just to see you.”
Quinlyn paused for a second, sensing something was off. She thought for a moment before realizing what felt wrong.
The Guzman family hadn’t mentioned anything about the “adopted daughter” situation, which honestly surprised her. She guessed maybe they had figured out she wasn’t so easy to mess with, so they didn’t dare bring it up.
Thinking about that, she didn’t know how to feel-part of her found it funny, part of her was just annoyed. Something she used to care so much about suddenly felt not that important anymore.
Quinlyn really didn’t care much about what she wore. After all, she wasn’t the star of this party.
She casually picked a dress that Yalena had set aside and hadn’t tried on. It was bright red-a color Yalena would never even consider.
But Quinlyn was different. Bright red looked amazing on her. Once she put it on, the effect was stunning-like a rose in full bloom.
To put it bluntly, she looked like the classic femme fatale.
After Quinlyn put on the dress, the stylist waiting nearby picked out a set of matching jewelry for her. There was really only one word to describe it all-big.
2/3
Chapter 11
She wore a big gemstone necklace, big dangling earrings, and a big princess-style headpiece with a giant gem in the center. To others, it might’ve looked tacky, like something a rich wannabe would wear-loud and full of money vibes.
Evelyn frowned a little when she saw the jewelry. Clearly, she wasn’t impressed. But once Quinlyn finished getting dressed and stood there in full, the whole look came together. She didn’t look tacky at all-she looked like she was born rich.
In another room, Graham, Chancey, and Yancy were getting ready too. They came over, and when they saw Quinlyn, a flicker of surprise passed through all their eyes. But right after that, their expressions turned disapproving.
Quinlyn knew exactly what that meant. They thought she was stealing the spotlight. That might not have been the right word, but that was how it was.
At first, she wanted the stylist to swap the jewelry for something lighter. The stuff she was wearing now was honestly way too heavy. But after seeing how her dad and brothers reacted, she changed her mind.
She lifted her chin, straightened her back, and gave them a calm, sweeping glance-looking beautiful, poised, and full of confidence.
The Guzman family went all out for this birthday party.
Part of it was because Quinlyn had come home. Another reason was that this marked the coming-of-age for both Quinlyn. and Yalena-so the party couldn’t be too casual.
The Guzmans wanted everyone to know they had two daughters, to attract the right kind of marriage matches.
There was also one more reason-now that both girls were adults, it was time to officially talk about the engagement with the Fletcher family.
Quinlyn was standing in front of a big crowd when the voice of the Narrator suddenly popped into her head.
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